Garry Farstad, general manager of The Kanata Inn, stands in one of the newly finished rooms.

EZRA BLACK

Pass Herald Reporter

Amid piles of building materials and equipment, milling workers and the accompanying din of construction, Gary Farstad, general manager of The Kanata Inn, points to a nondescript box in what will soon be the continental breakfast area of Blairmore’s newest hotel.
“That’s our automatic pancake machine,” says Farstad. “I don’t know if you’ve ever seen one of these but when you press a button a pancake comes out the side.”
The automatic pancake machine, a Mexican fusion restaurant, a free continental breakfast for every guest, a business area, conference area and a gym are but a few of the luxuries available to guests when the establishment opens later this month.
The Kanata will feature a total of 49 guest rooms, 30 of which will feature kitchenettes. Each room will be fitted with its own independent router for WiFi and the meeting room will feature an 80” smart TV.
Several community groups have already expressed interest in using the meeting room, says Farstad.
In addition to an impressive interior, Farstad says a major landscaping project around the exterior of the hotel will provide a patio and barbecue area open to guests and to members of the community.
“It is for people passing through,” says Farstad. “We want to beautify the area and when people come into Blairmore we want them to think that it’s an inviting community.”

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Farstad says the Mexican restaurant will be opening shortly after the hotel. The establishment, which will be called Antigua Mexican Fusion, will feature Alejandro Verdi; formerly of the Blackbird Coffee House and the Crowsnest Golf and Country Club, as head chef.
The new inn took three years to plan and build after fire damaged the building, then a BCMI establishment, in 2011. The hotel lounge, restaurant and lobby were all destroyed in the blaze.
Farstad says BCMI hired an architect for the rebuild and has invested substantially more than what was covered by insurance.
The Blairmore establishment will be the third Kanata Inn; there is one in Fort Saskatchewan and another in White Court with plans for more next year.
Farstad says the price of a room will range from $100 to $200 per night, not including tax.
BCMI, Kanata’s parent company, operates 11 hotels across Alberta and Saskatchewan.